Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,104 shares of company stock valued at $399,675. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $174.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. 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 50-day simple moving average of $183.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.