Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Purchases 5,496 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,496 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up 1.5% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $231.73. 414,024 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,400,148. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.65. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The company has a market cap of $66.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.