Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 10,176 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $50,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position 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 worth $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its holdings 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 valued at $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $224.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.50 and a 200 day moving average of $233.82.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.