Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Sells 346 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 81.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 5,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.41. The stock had a trading volume of 893,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,648. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $283.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $233.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.03.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related 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 transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is 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.