Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th 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 period. Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th 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 period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $34,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Finally, Phraction Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,138 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded up $3.10 on Friday, reaching $175.37. 2,253,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,907,136. The company's 50-day moving average price is $203.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.91. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. 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 $50.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 dividend yield of 2.37%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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

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.