HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 984 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 80.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041,425 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $461,158,000 after buying an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,091,000 after buying an additional 613,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BDX traded down $0.95 on Thursday, reaching $231.26. The stock had a trading volume of 104,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,165. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. 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 50-day simple moving average of $240.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

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.