EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 465 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 1,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $241.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 1.92 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $236.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.51.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of 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. 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

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.