Commerce Bank Sells 3,134 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,509 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,134 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $20,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. 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 target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BDX stock traded up $4.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $226.11. 1,325,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,426,432. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $233.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.20. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $65.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.