Accurate Wealth Management LLC Purchases 11,368 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 750.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,368 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after acquiring an additional 12,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares in 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 Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $248.42. The firm has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

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.