Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,724 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,054 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,724 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% in the third quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’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 value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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 (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.