Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,314,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $715,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $184,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:BDX traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $236.38. The company had a trading volume of 822,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,813. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $283.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.10.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.