JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd Sells 243 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd decreased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 33,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $2.11 on Monday, hitting $235.78. 663,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,718,234. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

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.