Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 97.7% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 38,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,731,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE BDX opened at $176.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.01. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

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.