Gotham Asset Management LLC Sells 43,495 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 95.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 43,495 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phraction Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $177.06 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.31. The company has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.