Appleton Partners Inc. MA Cuts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,151 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after purchasing an additional 172,005 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $5.86 on Friday, reaching $241.87. 1,803,035 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,597,036. The firm has a market cap of $69.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $232.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $284.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.