Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Capital Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,503 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,023 shares of company stock valued at $562,036 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $193.67 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.03 and a 200-day moving average of $187.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.82%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.