Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Breakwater Capital Group

Breakwater Capital Group decreased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.50. The firm has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.