Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 700 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 195,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,221,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $457,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $522,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 101,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,017 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, hitting $227.85. 334,652 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,486,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $227.69 and a 200-day moving average of $232.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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. 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 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.