Cypress Capital Group Sells 150 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Cypress Capital Group lessened its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,023 shares of company stock worth $562,036 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $186.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 74.82%.

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.