IFP Advisors Inc Sells 2,596 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

IFP Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,596 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.4% during the first quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 7,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.2% during the first quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the first quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 19,835 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,543,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.0%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,875,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,804. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $174.31 and its 200-day moving average is $202.75. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. On average, research 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.