Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Position Reduced by Palouse Capital Management Inc.

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,548 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.