Norway Savings Bank Buys 864 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Norway Savings Bank grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,340 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE BDX traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $232.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,071,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,331. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.49.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BDX. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.