First Pacific Financial Purchases 557 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $2,767,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,045 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 632,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $147,936,000 after acquiring an additional 14,130 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $1,978,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE BDX opened at $236.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.51. 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 $68.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. 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 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 in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced 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 is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

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.