Meridiem Capital Partners LP Takes $30.57 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Meridiem Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 134,762 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $30,573,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up 2.7% of Meridiem Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th 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 grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phraction Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded up $3.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,253,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,136. 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 firm has a market cap of $50.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $204.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.34. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99.

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 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.