Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Petredis Investment Advisors LLC

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BDX opened at $172.47 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $185.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

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.