Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 896 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 867 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 1,536 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 818 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $236.60. 1,255,426 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,024. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $238.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.12. The firm has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

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.