SFE Investment Counsel Boosts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,478 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $211,097,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth about $155,080,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,249 shares of company stock valued at $231,358 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $177.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.30. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $162.29 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.36%.

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.