Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in 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 buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.08 and its 200-day moving average is $233.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $248.42.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.