Auxier Asset Management Has $3.68 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Auxier Asset Management raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Busey Bank boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $34,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Finally, Phraction Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $173.35. 1,454,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,931,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.85 and a 200-day moving average of $217.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.