Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,723 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,035. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $287.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $65.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.02.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.14.

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.