Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by CX Institutional

CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after purchasing an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $243.69 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $228.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. 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 has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.