Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Position Raised by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,115,000 after buying an additional 22,207 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,043,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised 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 report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $246.74. The stock had a trading volume of 64,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,631. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $229.85 and a 1-year high of $287.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.05. 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 has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.42, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 90.05%.

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.