Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Trims Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 795 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,378,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $766,572,000 after purchasing an additional 212,635 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. United Bank now owns 3,798 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 233.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 103,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $23,523,000 after buying an additional 72,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $1,792,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $231.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.67. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.86 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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. Finally, Barclays increased 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.