Mcrae Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,475 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,475 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up 1.7% of Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after purchasing an additional 448,644 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the first 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,012,649,000 after buying an additional 312,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,365,509 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $577,420,000 after acquiring an additional 12,602 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $177.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $162.29 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 74.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,032 shares of company stock worth $193,040 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.