Essex Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,935 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,722,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 53,447 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,290 shares during the period. RBA Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,952 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,028,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. now owns 39,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,097,000 after acquiring an additional 10,769 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.39 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities 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 was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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.