D.B. Root & Company LLC Sells 234 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.B. Root & Company LLC decreased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on 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. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $227.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.