Northstar Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Northstar Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE BDX opened at $230.22 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $231.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

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.