State of Alaska Department of Revenue Grows Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,648 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $6,406,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,607,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $168.54 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.85 and its 200 day moving average is $212.00.

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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.