Rempart Asset Management Inc. Sells 966 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Rempart Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 82,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 966 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 3.7% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake 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 worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction 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 represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,340 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $232.48. 201,881 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,843. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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.