Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Delaney Dennis R

Delaney Dennis R lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 83.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,226 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 6,355 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,567,654,000 after purchasing an additional 667,957 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,265,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $967,745,000 after purchasing an additional 267,436 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

BDX traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.52. 1,875,850 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,931,804. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $174.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.75. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.