Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 50.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 27,581 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $21,607,000. M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 280,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $63,662,000 after acquiring an additional 95,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,005,635 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $228,148,000 after purchasing an additional 146,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.22.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Becton, Dickinson and Company
Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3%
BDX stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,118,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,125. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.25. 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 (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.
About Becton, Dickinson and Company
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Free Report)
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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