Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 92 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $168.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.