Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,820 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after acquiring an additional 172,005 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $237.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $68.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.40, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.16. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $284.48.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Barclays raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, July 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.13.

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.