Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,602,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 180,629 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 1.7% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.56% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $367,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 298,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $67,672,000 after purchasing an additional 22,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was 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 insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,875,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,804. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $174.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 declared 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 yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight equities research 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, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.22.

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.