JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Cuts Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 935,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,673 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned about 0.33% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $175,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 7,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% in the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total transaction of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,568,973.15. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $201,235. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.3%

BDX stock opened at $194.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s 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.