Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1%, selling 5,697 shares, and now holds approximately $5.51 million in shares.
• A series of institutional investors have increased or reduced their stakes in Becton, Dickinson, highlighting a significant 86.97% ownership by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts recently upgraded Becton, Dickinson's rating, with prices targets raised by multiple firms, suggesting potential growth for the stock.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,996 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,697 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Argus raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $186.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 74.82%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,023 shares of company stock worth $562,036 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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