Rothschild Investment LLC Sells 163 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Rothschild Investment LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 659 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $790,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29,654.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $170,523,000 after buying an additional 741,943 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $34,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 7,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:BDX opened at $172.53 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.64 and a 200 day moving average of $216.56. The firm has a market cap of $49.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, 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 value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% 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.