First Community Trust NA Acquires 185 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Community Trust NA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises 1.2% of First Community Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $108,243,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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 Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $226.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.50.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 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 (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.