UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $327,000 in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M.D. Sass LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 280,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,662,000 after buying an additional 95,403 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 445,187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $101,000,000 after acquiring an additional 6,758 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 35,050 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,952,000 after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,211.44. This represents a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.95 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $232.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $65.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.