CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys Shares of 222 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 377.3% during the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,508 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after acquiring an additional 9,097 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $227.96 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $232.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $65.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.