Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’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. 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 this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.4 %

BDX traded up $3.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.92. 159,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,205,455. 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 company has a market cap of $67.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.49. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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.