Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,234 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $135,267,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $227.31 and its 200-day moving average is $232.79. The company has a market cap of $69.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.