Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Sells 131 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after buying an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $65.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.11 and a 200-day moving average of $233.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

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.