David Shan Sells 500 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $238.36. 269,168 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,069. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.79. The company has a market capitalization of $69.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised 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 report 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 raised their price objective on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.2% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,806 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6,043.9% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 15,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,536,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.