Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Sells 1,226 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,927 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,226 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $692,729,000 after acquiring an additional 66,873 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BDX opened at $230.63 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.04.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.