Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes $361,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,673,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,933,206. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $196.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.87. The firm has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.44.

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.