First City Capital Management Inc. Sells 309 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $173.47 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $186.95 and its 200-day moving average is $214.84. The stock has a market cap of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.