Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $18.54 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has significantly reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.7%, now owning 80,919 shares valued at approximately $18.54 million.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, with EVP Michael David Garrison and Director Claire Fraser decreasing their stakes by 19.52% and 3.59%, respectively.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.68, exceeding consensus estimates, and plans to distribute a $1.04 per share dividend, yielding 2.1% annually.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 79.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 317,555 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,819,083 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $412,695,000 after buying an additional 141,406 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 604.3% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 176,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,611,000 after buying an additional 151,208 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,283 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,232,000 after purchasing an additional 13,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $165,954.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,450,398.90. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,214 shares of company stock valued at $579,206. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $5.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $193.65. 3,955,405 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,266,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $55.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.98.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, 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 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.