State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Acquires 12,455 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 326,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,455 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $80,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 374.7% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 15,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,767,000 after buying an additional 12,018 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $148,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 345.0% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 38,156 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,442,000 after purchasing an additional 29,582 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.0% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 764,576 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,194,000 after purchasing an additional 116,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of 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 decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $232.95. The stock had a trading volume of 527,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,787. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.59 and a 200-day moving average of $236.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $67.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 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.