First County Bank CT Sells 111 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First County Bank CT lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,534,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth $207,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at $290,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $232.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.45. The firm has a market cap of $67.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on 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 Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.