Argent Trust Co Acquires 282 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,754 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $34,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $176.19 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $174.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.40.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.88.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.