First Merchants Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 465 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BDX opened at $170.83 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.53 and a 200 day moving average of $209.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on BDX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut 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 research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’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 approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.