Procyon Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,396 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $451,641,000 after buying an additional 68,509 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after buying an additional 22,207 shares during the period. Caden Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 83,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $20,340,000 after buying an additional 17,599 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $230.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,427,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,445,623. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $224.00 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $234.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.65%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

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.