Waverly Advisors LLC Increases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 127.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $171.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

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.