Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,023 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 11,792 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 414.3% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,165 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $233.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,597,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,587. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $248.42. The business's 50-day moving average is $226.91 and its 200-day moving average is $232.45. The stock has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost 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 is currently 70.03%.

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.