Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Trims Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $180.17. 157,035 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,631,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.