Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,467 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,579 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE BDX traded down $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.87. 2,428,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,078,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $172.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.06.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company 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 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

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.