Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $97.30 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 428,872 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 20,081 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.15% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $97,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at about $767,000. Busey Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $230.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

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.