Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,886 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $2,470,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of BDX opened at $165.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.

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.

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