Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing 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 fourth 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 purchasing an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

BDX stock opened at $224.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.73. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.