California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 1,656 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,725,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,656 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.59% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $420,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 123.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,994,000 after purchasing an additional 9,054 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 383,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $93,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $715,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 85,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $233.88. 766,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,396,746. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.18. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $229.40 and a one year high of $287.32. The company has a market cap of $67.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 90.05%.

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.