Harvey Investment Co. LLC Sells 615 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722,829 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $168.58 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.20. The company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

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.