California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,725,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,656 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $420,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $233.88. 766,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,396,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $67.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $287.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $240.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.18.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.