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

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

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $34,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phraction Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,010,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,323. The business has a fifty day moving average of $197.15 and a 200-day moving average of $218.17. The stock has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction 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 $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.