HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Sells 155 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,889 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position 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 worth $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its position 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 worth $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,363 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,105 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results 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, analysts anticipate 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 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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, Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.