Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $12.37 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 9,892 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $12,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE BDX traded down $3.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $169.26. 3,262,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,933,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $192.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.56. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one 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 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 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 earned $3.17 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 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.