Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Lessened by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,676 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,370 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $226.92 and a 200 day moving average price 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 data 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 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.