CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 437 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $242.01 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.72%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

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.