Teacher Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 52.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 141,320 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $29,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Revisor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $477,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $6,701,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 83,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $19,187,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 14,996 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of BDX traded down $3.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $172.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,499,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,561. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $173.29 and its 200-day moving average is $207.19. 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 market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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