Obermeyer Wealth Partners Takes $430,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722,829 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $175.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $206.87 and its 200-day moving average is $222.15. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.