Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Position Lessened by Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% in the third quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $245.07 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.