Gries Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 75.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,818 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.0%

BDX stock opened at $198.91 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.27 and its 200 day moving average is $187.41. The firm has a market cap of $56.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. On average, research analysts forecast 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 Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total transaction of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,568,973.15. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,052 shares of company stock worth $201,235 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.18.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.