WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 7,861 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,568 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,861 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,880,510,000 after acquiring an additional 448,644 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,513,421,000 after buying an additional 3,268,478 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,153,157,000 after purchasing an additional 244,199 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,012,649,000 after buying an additional 312,124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,249 shares of company stock valued at $231,358 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $194.63. The company had a trading volume of 545,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,449,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $186.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $162.29 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.04%.

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.