Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.95 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

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.