Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,840 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in 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 last quarter. 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 boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $225.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.