Tributary Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $761,798,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $173,347,000 after buying an additional 383,485 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.86.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $229.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.48, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $224.00 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.