Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 1,507 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,820 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at $173,692,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $173,347,000 after buying an additional 383,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BDX opened at $237.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $284.48.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, 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 transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.