Romano Brothers AND Company Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $235.17 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $67.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.11. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.85 and a 1 year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for 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 revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.