Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Acquired by Covea Finance

Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,847 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,610 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 7,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Plancorp LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% during the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total value of $123,302.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,568,973.15. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 978 shares of company stock valued at $186,725 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Argus lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $196.12 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $162.29 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $190.23 and its 200-day moving average is $186.03. The stock has a market cap of $55.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%.The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.