Bill Few Associates Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bill Few Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,684 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 895 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in 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 period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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 raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $238.05 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.44 and a 200-day moving average of $232.83. The company has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.