Cypress Wealth Services LLC Takes $714,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the 3rd 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 position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during 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. Birch Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BDX stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $237.57. 2,110,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,156,771. 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 has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42. The stock has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.53.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

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.