Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 8,508 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 97.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,508 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% during the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 265 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.3%

BDX stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $171.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,118,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,125. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.22. The company has a market capitalization of $49.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This 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 corporate 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.