1,042 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Bought by Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,042 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,630,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $938,593,000 after purchasing an additional 304,629 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $761,798,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $228.02. 243,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,962. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.83. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $224.00 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.42, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. Insiders own 0.31% 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.