Swedbank AB Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 144,672 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $35,799,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $35,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock opened at $241.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $232.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.28. The company has a market capitalization of $69.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.27, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $284.48.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total transaction of $781,209.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,942.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,900 shares of company stock worth $1,634,112. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

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.