YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 682 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $417,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 142.2% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $689,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 23,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,251,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 51,157 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,606,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have weighed in on BDX. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.
Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.1 %
Shares of BDX stock opened at $248.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $72.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.15.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Company 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.
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