Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 4,293 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 47.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 1,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,197 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 8,696 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $11.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $229.82. 1,808,593 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,492. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $284.48. 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 $66.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.10, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 11,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,942.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction 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 have sold 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.