Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after acquiring an additional 12,845 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $233.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $226.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.45. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.