Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 5,579 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,730 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,579 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 689.4% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $167.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $48.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.15. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986 in the last ninety days. 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.