Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Position Trimmed by Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,028,807,000 after buying an additional 4,041,425 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after buying an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,091,000 after buying an additional 613,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $234.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,265,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,193. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.43, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.