CPA Asset Management LLC Sells 990 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CPA Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 990 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up 0.8% of CPA Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. CPA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $767,000. Busey Bank raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.21.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last 90 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.