Focus Partners Wealth Lowers Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Focus Partners Wealth lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,591 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after buying an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 worth $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $175.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $206.87 and a 200 day moving average of $222.15. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

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.