Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Addenda Capital Inc.

Addenda Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,221 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 22,263 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $172.01. 1,040,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,931,910. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $189.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. 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 market cap of $49.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 $1.04 dividend. 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 2.42%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.