Silver Lake Advisory LLC Sells 920 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 920 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 2.1% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $240.21 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $227.44 and its 200 day moving average is $232.83. The firm has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

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.