Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 60.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $170.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.54. The company has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.