Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,418 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 661 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 50.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 82,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,808,000 after purchasing an additional 27,581 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.7% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,838 shares of company stock worth $348,392 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Argus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $185.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $53.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.82%.

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.