Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 23,252 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 962,530 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 23,252 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $224,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,060,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,141,000 after buying an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 5,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,236,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Citigroup cut their target price on 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. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9 %

BDX traded up $1.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.24. The stock had a trading volume of 21,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,337. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $234.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.02. The company has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.