Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $141 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. decreased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.7%, making it the fund's 9th largest holding at about 3.4% of its portfolio.
• A number of analysts have downgraded Becton, Dickinson's rating, with Goldman Sachs shifting from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating, setting a $192.00 price target.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company reported $3.35 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, yielding 2.24%.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. decreased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 615,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 97,819 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 3.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.21% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $141,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 253 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 39,121 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,875,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE BDX traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $180.58. 1,355,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,614,242. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.