Eads & Heald Wealth Management Sells 595 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,716 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

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.