Harvey Investment Co. LLC Trims Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $767,000. Busey Bank grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 7.1 %

NYSE BDX opened at $227.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $66.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler increased 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

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.