Golden State Equity Partners Purchases 1,442 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 801.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $247.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.83. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.