Woodline Partners LP Has $31.58 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Woodline Partners LP reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 139,209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 38,939 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $31,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $176.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.75 and a 200-day moving average of $220.01. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.