Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Buys 5,496 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 5,496 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 1.5% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,342,503,000 after purchasing an additional 512,566 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,021,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,239,745,000 after purchasing an additional 76,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,028,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $0.94 on Thursday, hitting $233.15. 891,562 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,878. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $240.19 and its 200 day moving average is $242.58. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The company has a market capitalization of $67.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is presently 90.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BDX. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.00.

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.