Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,072 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,015 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $17,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,382,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of BDX stock traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $165.13. 3,662,914 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,829,950. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.42 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $213.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.

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.