Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,042 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5 %

BDX stock traded down $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.02. 243,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,440,962. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $224.00 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.83. The company has a market capitalization of $65.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.