Hilltop National Bank Boosts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $108,243,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of 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 cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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 Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $233.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 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.