Bill Few Associates Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bill Few Associates Inc. reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,684 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 895 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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.