Eastern Bank Has $3.59 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Eastern Bank cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,566 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 275,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $64,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,616 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.0% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 22,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of BDX traded up $3.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $236.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,458,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,822,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost 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%.

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.