Hendley & Co. Inc. Takes $204,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hendley & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 82,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,808,000 after purchasing an additional 27,581 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,406,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.6%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $176.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.