Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Has $839,000 Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,602 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $231.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.01, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Raymond James dropped their target price 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, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.