Financial Counselors Inc. Has $297,000 Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $173,692,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $236.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $278.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. 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 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.