Insider Selling: Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Director Sells $159,593.00 in Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $224.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $232.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.82. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 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%. Analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 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 authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised 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 report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.