Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,309 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the first quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,257,000 after purchasing an additional 5,527 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 47.8% during the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.3% during the first quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 30,123 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 7,178 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 45.2% during the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 126.9% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 236 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE BDX opened at $233.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.85. The stock has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.44. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $224.00 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.17.

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.