Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,451,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 22,001 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.50% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $329,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $229.37 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.67. The company has a market capitalization of $65.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

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.