Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 15,297 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 15,297 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $36,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $269.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $235.51 and a 200-day moving average of $235.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS 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. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.