Pitcairn Co. Has $451,000 Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,005,994,000 after buying an additional 172,005 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $628,440,000 after buying an additional 105,821 shares during the period. 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 $4.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $232.78. 2,057,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,550. The company has a market cap of $67.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $286.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.14.

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.