Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,957 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 60,204 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 3.0% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $75,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 4,041,425 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,091,000 after buying an additional 613,369 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.26. 1,510,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,413,843. The company has a market cap of $67.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $240.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.