Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 980 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

BDX opened at $174.21 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.07.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,104 shares of company stock valued at $399,675. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.