Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $348,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $230.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.