Stonegate Investment Group LLC Buys 559 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,095 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $248.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.15. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $72.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.