Savant Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,097,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $155,080,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of BDX opened at $181.62 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.99. The company has a market cap of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $162.29 and a twelve month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $257.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,249 shares of company stock valued at $231,358 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.