Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Lowered by Evoke Wealth LLC

Evoke Wealth LLC cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,363 shares of company stock worth $1,676,105. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BDX opened at $227.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research 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 of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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.