Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lessened its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,297 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises 1.1% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB owned about 0.06% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $39,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 265 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup downgraded 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 research report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,036,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,102. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.84. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.