Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 13,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,173,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,876,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 28,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 86.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $284.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $263.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,003,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,096. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.92. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $215.90 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 13.24%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 66.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total transaction of $238,847.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,109.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.48, for a total value of $125,986.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,309.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total transaction of $238,847.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,109.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,581 shares of company stock valued at $1,551,429. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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's BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.