Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $225.57 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $233.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.05.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.