Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Stock Purchased by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,835,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 150,931 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 2.6% of Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned 0.67% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $328,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 122.2% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing 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% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 66,211 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,852,000 after purchasing an additional 8,327 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,801,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,379 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the third quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,243 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,160,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $768,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $20,380,155. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 7,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,456,770 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $215.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $188.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.32. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $138.31 and a 12-month high of $216.74. The firm has a market cap of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 101.45%.

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

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.