Woodline Partners LP Sells 38,939 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Woodline Partners LP reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 38,939 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $31,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 97.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 38,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $176.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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.