Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,974 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,537,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.0 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $229.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $234.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $224.00 and a one year high of $287.32. The stock has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a PE ratio of 50.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.86.

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.