Everence Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $228.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,244,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,140. 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 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.26 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. 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.