Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 369 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,241 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $767,000. Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $227.98 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $65.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.86 and a 200 day moving average of $233.34.

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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

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.