RMR Wealth Builders Sells 50 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

RMR Wealth Builders reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,888 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,954,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 689.4% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $233.65 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The firm has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.