Buckhead Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 6,509 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 84,714 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $21,901,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Toews Corp ADV purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Vicus Capital boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 221.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,820 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,675,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $233.72. 2,566,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,039. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.76. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $67.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.59, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.05%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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.

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