Cromwell Holdings LLC Sells 484 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cromwell Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 32,359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 160,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,521,000 after purchasing an additional 28,499 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 87,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,887,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $227.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $232.86 and its 200 day moving average is $233.34.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

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.