Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Holdings Boosted by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.3 %

BDX stock opened at $232.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.50. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.