WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $17.20 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $17,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $224.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $232.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.82. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BDX shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.