Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Lowers Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,007 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 2.8% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after buying an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $167.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 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’s fifty day moving average price is $208.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.15.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

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.