Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 233.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 103,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,714 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $23,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted 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, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $226.55 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 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%. Analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

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.