Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 105,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,775 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 7,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 18,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,255,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% during the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Argus upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE BDX opened at $177.44 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $162.29 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.07 and a 200-day moving average of $182.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 74.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,032 shares of company stock valued at $193,040. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.