Elefante Mark B Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Elefante Mark B bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,094 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX traded up $8.00 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $175.22. 4,736,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,869,015. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $50.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $208.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.92.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.