Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 357.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,854 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 10,824 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Becton, Dickinson and Company
Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9%
BDX stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Monday, hitting $177.06. 3,207,980 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,827. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.
Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.
About Becton, Dickinson and Company
(
Free Report)
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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