EP Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $241.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.51. The company has a market capitalization of $69.66 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.