Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 4,141 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 80.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 4,141 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company'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 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. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $168.58. The stock had a trading volume of 5,093,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,389. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $179.58 and its 200 day moving average is $211.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

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.