John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Boosts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 1.0% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,567,654,000 after purchasing an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,265,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $967,745,000 after purchasing an additional 267,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $775,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722,829 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,875,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,804. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $174.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.39 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. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related 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 value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.