Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Running Oak Capital LLC

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,227 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $451,641,000 after purchasing an additional 68,509 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,207 shares in the last quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 83,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,340,000 after purchasing an additional 17,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Two 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.17.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $238.29. 2,014,700 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,476,021. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $224.00 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.44.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.