D.B. Root & Company LLC Trims Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,194 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,482 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 54,217 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,016,000 after buying an additional 15,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 4,418 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.2 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $233.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,404,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,420. The company has a market capitalization of $67.54 billion, a PE ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $224.00 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’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 company earned $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.