Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 128 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $245.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $231.33 and a 200-day moving average of $234.02. 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 cap of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. The trade was a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.