Rothschild Investment LLC Sells 322 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Rothschild Investment LLC reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 822 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during 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 buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during 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 buying an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $233.05 and its 200 day moving average is $233.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.