Toth Financial Advisory Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

BDX stock opened at $243.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $228.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

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.