Natural Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Natural Investments LLC cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 27.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,424 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 538 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,414,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,097,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $155,080,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,567,654,000 after purchasing an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Argus upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $186.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.03. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

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 for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,023 shares of company stock worth $562,036. Corporate insiders own 0.36% 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.