Simon Quick Advisors LLC Acquires 142 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $135,267,000 after acquiring an additional 12,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during 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 buying an additional 673,568 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $227.13 and its 200-day moving average is $232.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 9,344 shares of company stock worth $2,090,716 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on 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. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

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.