Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 1,433 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,433 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $451,641,000 after purchasing an additional 68,509 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after purchasing an additional 18,786 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after purchasing an additional 49,559 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $11,998,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the first quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after purchasing an additional 5,527 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut 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 note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $231.58 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $235.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.54. The stock has a market cap of $66.93 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.