Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Stake Reduced by O Brien Greene & Co. Inc

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lessened its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,594 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $31,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 378.9% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 182 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Argus boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $177.44 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $162.29 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,032 shares of company stock valued at $193,040. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.