Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Covea Finance

Covea Finance increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $13,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. 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 $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. 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 50 day simple moving average of $226.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.