Parvin Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,019 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $912,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth 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. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $8,382,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $168.24. 2,015,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,811,295. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The business's fifty day moving average is $214.76 and its 200 day moving average is $225.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $165.72 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986. Corporate 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.