Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 36.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $283,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Baker Chad R grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 37.7% in the first quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 5,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.6% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 34,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 798,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $182,871,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $174.31 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 2.39%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,104 shares of company stock worth $399,675. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.