Portside Wealth Group LLC Sells 49 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of 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 cut 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $237.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42. The company has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its 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 for 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%. Becton, Dickinson and 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 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.