Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,028 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Citigroup cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE BDX opened at $233.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.