Howland Capital Management LLC Has $942,000 Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Howland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,808 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after acquiring an additional 172,005 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,433,842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $585,266,000 after acquiring an additional 176,027 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. 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 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.14.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $225.00. 1,849,424 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,433,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $233.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.11. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during 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%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 value of $399,269.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.