State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,286 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $45,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,458,000. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $344,000. Hutchinson Financial Advisors INC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,024,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $194.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $162.29 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $55.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

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.