Mechanics Financial Corp Sells 100 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mechanics Financial Corp cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX traded down $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $232.11. 1,600,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,383,456. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $67.06 billion, a PE ratio of 55.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

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.