Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,596 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $135,267,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. 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 equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % 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 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during 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 quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 1.76%. 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 (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

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.