Earnest Partners LLC Has $1.59 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 88 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $173,692,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $173,347,000 after purchasing an additional 383,485 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.13.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,900 shares of company stock worth $1,634,112. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 165,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,872. The company has a market cap of $69.07 billion, a PE ratio of 52.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $232.25 and a 200-day moving average of $236.16. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $284.48.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released 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 return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

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.