ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 66 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,344 shares of company stock worth $2,090,716 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.