First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services Lowers Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 19,591 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,445,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 650 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 4,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $714,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $237.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month 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 fifty day simple moving average is $226.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.53.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction 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. This trade 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 valued at $1,949,520. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.