Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.30. 719,530 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,432,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.63. The company has a market capitalization of $67.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.56, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.