Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,457 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,272 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $17,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 82.7% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,964 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. now owns 1,803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 166.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 381,633 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $87,417,000 after acquiring an additional 238,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $257.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,324 shares of company stock worth $245,860. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $193.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $162.29 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.78.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 71.36%.

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.