Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $3.32 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $3,317,000.

Several other 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 $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $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 $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given 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 Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $167.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,133,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,499. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $208.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.