Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC

Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 321.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,897 shares during the quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $173.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,454,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,931,561. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $194.85 and a 200-day moving average of $217.56. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 in the last three months. 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.