West Coast Financial LLC Sells 225 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

West Coast Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,015 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after buying an additional 435,168 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,630,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $938,593,000 after buying an additional 304,629 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $761,798,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $234.59. 318,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,437,843. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.92. The company has a market cap of $67.80 billion, a PE ratio of 51.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.44. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $224.00 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.