Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Arlington Partners LLC

Arlington Partners LLC reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 72.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,645 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,403 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,487 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $230.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its 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 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.