Marcum Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 114.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,599 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after acquiring an additional 12,845 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,807,235. This trade 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 this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.50. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E 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 released 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

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.