City Holding Co. Has $652,000 Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

City Holding Co. decreased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in 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 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 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % 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 Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $237.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $227.07 and its 200-day moving average is $232.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Equities 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.