Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 75.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,138 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the third 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 about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.70. The firm has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. The trade was a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,344 shares of company stock worth $2,090,716. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.