Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,124 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $227.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.