Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Purchases 499 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 49.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during 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 buying an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $227.84 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year 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 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $232.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.19. The company has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,363 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,105 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.