Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Boosted by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,531 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $170,523,000 after acquiring an additional 741,943 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value 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 trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE BDX traded up $1.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $183.62. 1,801,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,985,697. The stock has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.07. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.