Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,870 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $16,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,814,411 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,610,557,000 after purchasing an additional 13,965,418 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 913.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,840,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $410,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,056 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,219,559 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,286,779,000 after acquiring an additional 725,606 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 1,441.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 573,096 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $142,030,000 after acquiring an additional 535,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,309,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $569,465,000 after acquiring an additional 363,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.08% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Stock Down 1.0 %

Becton, Dickinson and stock opened at $235.58 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $215.90 and a twelve month high of $277.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $244.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.53.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.30. Becton, Dickinson and had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Becton, Dickinson and’s payout ratio is 68.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and from $319.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $221.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.60, for a total value of $353,260.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,023,983.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and

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Becton, Dickinson & Co engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. It operates through the following segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment produces medical technologies and devices that are used to help improve healthcare delivery.