Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Purchases 33,860 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 97.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,522 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,860 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,138 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 237,853 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,962,000 after acquiring an additional 31,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 163.3% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $170.86 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $48.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $189.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock worth $836,000 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.