Stevens Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stevens Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 139.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during 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 during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $694,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $230.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $232.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.93. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, 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 of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 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.