Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Sells $399,269.15 in Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BDX traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,026,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,445. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The firm has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 55.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $238.98 and its 200 day moving average is $240.76.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 90.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $761,798,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after acquiring an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,342,503,000 after acquiring an additional 512,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,121,000 after acquiring an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

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.