GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 748 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $21,607,000. M.D. Sass LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 280,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,662,000 after acquiring an additional 95,403 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,005,635 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,148,000 after buying an additional 146,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $12,459,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE BDX opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.93. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $49.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% 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 company insiders.

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.