Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 53.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,764 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 7,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $4,227,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $252,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 7,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $182.62. 2,622,754 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,163,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. 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 $173.87 and its 200-day moving average is $203.40.

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 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.