Ethic Inc. Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Ethic Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 215.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,402 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 25,542 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $195.02 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $162.29 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $55.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.52.

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 company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.04%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,052 shares of company stock worth $201,235 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.