Short Interest in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Declines By 11.7%

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,970,000 shares, a decline of 11.7% from the May 31st total of 2,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in 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 valued at $451,641,000 after acquiring an additional 68,509 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,207 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $11,998,000. Finally, Caden Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 83,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,340,000 after buying an additional 17,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $228.84. The stock had a trading volume of 509,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,436,931. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $224.00 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.14 billion, a PE ratio of 50.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.