Ninety One UK Ltd Reduces Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,229,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,389 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 1.6% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $543,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041,425 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $461,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,091,000 after acquiring an additional 613,369 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after acquiring an additional 516,427 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BDX. Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $230.78. The stock had a trading volume of 301,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,642. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $229.40 and a one year high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $240.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

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.