Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BDX opened at $227.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $232.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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.