Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Stock: New York Life Investment Management LLC Grows Stake

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 8,599 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.0% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 1,835,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $328,567,000 after buying an additional 150,931 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 122.2% in the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.4% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 66,211 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,852,000 after acquiring an additional 8,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $1,801,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $215.72 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $140.11 and a 12 month high of $216.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $59.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.48.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 5.66%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.45%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,717,022.80. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $628,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,134,230. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,310 shares of company stock valued at $688,650. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $208.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.47.

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.