Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $847,000 Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $249.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $250.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $228.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.