Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and comprises about 0.8% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $6,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and from $319.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Becton, Dickinson and from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $2.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,542,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $215.90 and a twelve month high of $277.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.45, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $244.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.65.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.59 billion. Becton, Dickinson and had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Becton, Dickinson and’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.68%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.60, for a total transaction of $353,260.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,023,983.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Profile

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Becton, Dickinson & Co engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. It operates through the following segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment produces medical technologies and devices that are used to help improve healthcare delivery.