D.B. Root & Company LLC Sells 234 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Citigroup raised 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend 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.