Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 711 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,827 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $176.19 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.87. 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 issued its earnings results 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. 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 period last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.