Insider Selling: Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Sells 788 Shares of Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $234.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $226.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.47. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 414.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 4,139 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.0% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,165 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

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.