Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) is Close Asset Management Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Close Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 30,307 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 3.2% of Close Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Close Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.17% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $112,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,167,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 298,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,672,000 after acquiring an additional 22,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $181.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $173.51 and its 200-day moving average is $204.06. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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.