Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth 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 period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BDX. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BDX opened at $224.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.