Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $2.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $233.71. 2,404,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,471,420. The stock has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $234.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $224.00 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.