Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,905 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 21,309 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $233.65. 2,597,939 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,896,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $226.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.