Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Sells 74 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,708 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $135,267,000 after purchasing an additional 12,845 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BDX. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $237.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $227.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.59.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.