abrdn plc Trims Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

abrdn plc decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 268,043 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,935 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $60,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after purchasing an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 2.3 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $242.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $230.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.94. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.