HF Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 60.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 7,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.3% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,846 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 109.6% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.4%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $2.44 on Friday, hitting $173.47. 2,036,193 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,942,331. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $49.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $188.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.18. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.