Raiffeisen Bank International AG Sells 4,875 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.2%, bringing its total ownership to 147,913 shares valued at $33.65 million.
• Significant institutional investors, including T. Rowe Price and Invesco, have increased their stakes in the company, indicating a strong interest in Becton, Dickinson, with institutional ownership now at 86.97%.
• Analysts have downgraded Becton, Dickinson from "strong-buy" to "hold", and the consensus target price for the stock has decreased to $212.88 following recent market changes.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 4,875 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned about 0.05% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $33,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29,654.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $170,523,000 after acquiring an additional 741,943 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,567,654,000 after acquiring an additional 667,957 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $99,627,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $212.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:BDX traded up $0.74 on Tuesday, hitting $179.64. 390,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,625,480. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.99. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.20.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.