Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,382,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $135,267,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. 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 $70.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.00. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, 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 value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI upped 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.