Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 196 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 424,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $233.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.21.

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, beating 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 research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 1.81%. The ex-dividend date 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 authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % 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, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.