Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $168.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $180.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $48.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.