First Trust Advisors LP Has $47.38 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,383 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $47,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $3,458,000. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $344,000. Hutchinson Financial Advisors INC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth $1,024,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% in the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $257.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.45.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,324 shares of company stock worth $245,860 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE BDX opened at $189.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $54.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $188.39 and a 200-day moving average of $183.97. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $162.29 and a 1-year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.36%.

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.