Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $814,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 152.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.5%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $215.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $188.68 and a 200-day moving average of $170.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $138.31 and a twelve month high of $216.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a PE ratio of 51.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.45%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,717,022.80. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $628,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,134,230. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,462 shares of company stock worth $1,456,770 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies.

BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.

Its offerings serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.