Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 283 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 283 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Brady Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,188 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9%

BDX opened at $175.87 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.76.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.