Trust Co. of Vermont Cuts Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Trust Co. of Vermont trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 47,196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,840 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,565,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $653,377,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $1,513,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268,478 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,466,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16,974.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579,386 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $272,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570,136 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,568,973.15. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,036 shares of company stock worth $197,225 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $196.59 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $162.29 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $189.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.