ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,023 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,792 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.10. 685,178 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,944. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.94 and a 200-day moving average of $232.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.