Legacy Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 110.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Brady Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $171.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 1.28 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.