Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 1,189 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. FirstPurpose Wealth LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% in the second quarter. FirstPurpose Wealth LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,597 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Intercontinental Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intercontinental Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 86.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $282.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $284.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $304.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.38.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $233.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $225.61 and a 1-year high of $287.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.42. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total transaction of $238,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,608 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,109.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.48, for a total value of $125,986.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,309.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total transaction of $238,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,109.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and 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's BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.