Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.2%, acquiring an additional 129,209 shares, bringing its total ownership to 518,198 shares valued at approximately $89.26 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and T. Rowe Price, have also increased their holdings in Becton, Dickinson, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock, which is owned 86.97% by institutional investors.
• Becton, Dickinson's stock has seen a 1.4% decline recently, with shares trading at $186.41, while it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04, yielding 2.2% annually.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 518,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 129,209 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.18% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $89,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,880,510,000 after buying an additional 448,644 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,012,649,000 after buying an additional 312,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,091,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $707,872,000 after buying an additional 37,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.4%

BDX stock opened at $186.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.03. 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 $53.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 74.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $205.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,023 shares of company stock worth $562,036 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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