Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Sells $436,325.40 in Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $65.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% 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.