Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 90,198 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3,191.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 90,198 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $22,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,207 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the third quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 714,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $174,122,000 after buying an additional 7,790 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $6.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $240.35. 3,669,276 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,802. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $69.44 billion, a PE ratio of 55.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $238.75 and a 200-day moving average of $240.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

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.