ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 66 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,716 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $227.13 and its 200 day moving average is $232.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. 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 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.