Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 97.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 183,600 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. Barclays reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $221.44.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Becton, Dickinson and Company
Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance
BDX stock traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $172.53. 3,358,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,939,853. The company has a market cap of $49.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $192.64 and its 200 day moving average is $216.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.
Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given 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 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were 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 owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Becton, Dickinson and Company
(
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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