Americana Partners LLC Has $345,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $767,000. Busey Bank boosted its stake 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 valued at $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $225.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $232.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one 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 0.74.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of 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. 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.