Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Lowers Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 35.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,137 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,108 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,565,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,305,947 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,513,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,478 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670,590 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,153,157,000 after purchasing an additional 244,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $653,377,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total transaction of $123,302.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,568,973.15. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,036 shares of company stock worth $197,225 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $194.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $189.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $162.29 and a 1 year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%.The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.64.

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.