Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Becton, Dickinson and Company Put Options (NYSE:BDX)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 3,003 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 226% compared to the typical daily volume of 922 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,203 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,594,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $124,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,331 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,839,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of BDX traded up $3.21 on Monday, hitting $246.66. 367,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,896,313. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $228.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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