Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 122,856 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 122,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $27,872,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during 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 during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut 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 report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.96. 1,673,598 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,931,292. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.87. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.