Procyon Advisors LLC Has $3.81 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,396 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $761,798,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $173,347,000 after purchasing an additional 383,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $230.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,427,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,445,623. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $224.00 and a one year high of $287.32. The company has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 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 Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.