Close Asset Management Ltd Sells 30,307 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Close Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 490,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 30,307 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises approximately 3.2% of Close Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Close Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.17% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $112,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,167,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 298,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $67,672,000 after buying an additional 22,272 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,875,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,804. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $174.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.75. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays cut 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

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.