Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by Louisbourg Investments Inc.

Louisbourg Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for 1.8% of Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,565,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305,947 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,513,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,466,613,000 after buying an additional 1,670,590 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,153,157,000 after buying an additional 244,199 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at about $653,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.64.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total value of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,036 shares of company stock valued at $197,225 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5%

BDX opened at $195.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.34. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $162.29 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.