Bank of New Hampshire Decreases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bank of New Hampshire cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $8,382,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $3.22 on Tuesday, reaching $233.92. 159,378 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,455. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $227.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.49. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. 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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.