Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $248.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $250.91. The company has a market cap of $72.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research 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 target price of $283.00.

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.