Cannell & Spears LLC Trims Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $65.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $231.83 and a 200-day moving average of $231.72. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS 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 analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

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.