Granite Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,297 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after purchasing an additional 18,786 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $11,998,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caden Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 83,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $20,340,000 after acquiring an additional 17,599 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5 %

BDX opened at $233.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 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 business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.