Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by ASB Consultores LLC

ASB Consultores LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased 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. Citigroup lowered 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $269.52. The stock has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a PE ratio of 51.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $235.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its 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. 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 return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.