Webster Bank N. A. Sells 875 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Webster Bank N. A. decreased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 875 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $761,798,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $173,347,000 after purchasing an additional 383,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was 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 owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $233.71. 2,404,003 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,471,420. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $234.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.84. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $224.00 and a one year high of $287.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.