Fermata Advisors LLC Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 880 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $34,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $170.74 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.00 and its 200-day moving average is $215.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $48.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 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 the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 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.