Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.8% during the second quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. &PARTNERS raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 462.1% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 16,031 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 13,179 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $374,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $235.02. 250,392 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,430,309. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $233.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $283.50. The stock has a market cap of $67.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.