Ritholtz Wealth Management Makes New $224,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 979 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of BDX opened at $168.58 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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 target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.22.

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.