Kanawha Capital Management LLC Has $18.82 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,964 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,447 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up approximately 1.5% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

BDX opened at $224.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.45 and a 200-day moving average of $233.88. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, 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 transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.