Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $13,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,146,374,000 after purchasing an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Longview Partners Guernsey LTD raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.9% during the first quarter. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD now owns 2,321,435 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $574,439,000 after buying an additional 170,500 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $231.58 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $269.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $66.93 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $235.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.