Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,610 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $79,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 49 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 analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 sale, 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 hyperlink. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total transaction of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,900 shares of company stock worth $1,634,112 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $5.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $241.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,803,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,036. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $284.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $232.90 and its 200-day moving average is $236.28. The company has a market cap of $69.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.