D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 37.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $176.16 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $50.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.14.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.

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