Blair William & Co. IL Reduces Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,468 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $565,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.2% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 185,865 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,992,000 after purchasing an additional 62,963 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.4% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,114,959 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $523,347,000 after purchasing an additional 161,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,068,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a market capitalization of $66.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.58.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.14.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.