Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 6,472 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,472 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $22,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $235.54 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.88, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

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.