Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,992 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $170.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $188.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.18. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued 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 2.44%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 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 approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock worth $836,000. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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