Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Has $17.71 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,072 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,015 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $17,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during 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 buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:BDX traded up $2.43 on Thursday, reaching $169.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,003,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,019. The company has a 50-day moving average of $211.20 and a 200 day moving average of $224.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.