Hickory Asset Management Inc. Makes New $257,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted 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 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $224.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.50 and a 200-day moving average of $233.82. The company has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. 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 has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the 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 owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.