Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Position Reduced by City State Bank

City State Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,725 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. City State Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX traded up $3.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $236.81. 450,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,672,296. 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 capitalization of $68.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.