Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 837,949 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,427 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.29% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $190,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $171.20 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.