Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,309 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,630,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $938,593,000 after purchasing an additional 304,629 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $233.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a PE ratio of 51.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $224.00 and a 1-year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.17.

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.