Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Decreases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 19.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,432 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $451,641,000 after acquiring an additional 68,509 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after acquiring an additional 18,786 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $1,295,000. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after acquiring an additional 49,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,998,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total transaction of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.2 %

BDX traded up $2.84 on Tuesday, reaching $233.93. 894,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,423,236. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $67.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.