D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 648 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 976,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $238,157,000 after buying an additional 129,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $234.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.73, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $287.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total transaction of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,597 shares of company stock worth $2,028,786 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.