Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Has $5.70 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 42.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 22,177 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,565,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $653,377,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after buying an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,613,000 after buying an additional 1,670,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16,974.4% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579,386 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $272,049,000 after buying an additional 1,570,136 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $210.45 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $162.29 and a 1-year high of $235.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.22. The company has a market cap of $59.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $233.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,463 shares of company stock worth $501,530 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.