Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Acquires 33,860 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 97.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,522 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 33,860 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.0% in the first quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,217 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $170.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $189.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

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.