Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 188 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,575 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.11 on Monday, hitting $236.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 778,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,818. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $283.50. The stock has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.