Empirical Finance LLC Sells 623 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 623 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $173,692,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $242.34 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $283.50. The company has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $233.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.06.

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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

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.