Fiduciary Group LLC Has $6 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fiduciary Group LLC decreased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 39.0% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 449,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $103,433,000 after purchasing an additional 126,058 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.5% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 188,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,969,000 after purchasing an additional 28,017 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 53.9% during the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,161 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 15,973 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,733,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $233.94 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $269.52. The company has a market cap of $67.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BDX. Raymond James reduced their target price on 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. 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, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

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.