Puzo Michael J Sells 11,899 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Puzo Michael J cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 67.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 11,899 shares during the quarter. Puzo Michael J's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during 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 period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $168.54. 2,839,943 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,994,463. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $180.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.63. The company has a market cap of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated 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 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 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.