Baker Chad R Buys 1,485 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Baker Chad R increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Baker Chad R’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth 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. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $34,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9%

BDX opened at $174.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.60 and its 200 day moving average is $213.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 now owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,104 shares of company stock worth $399,675. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.