Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.84 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after acquiring 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 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock opened at $170.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

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.