Swedbank AB Has $34.62 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 148,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $34,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI cut their target price on 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. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $236.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 915,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,447,671. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $283.50. The company has a market capitalization of $68.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 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.