Cardinal Capital Management Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings 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 worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE BDX opened at $224.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $232.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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.