Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 47.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,028,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041,425 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $697,398,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 262.0% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 847,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,091,000 after purchasing an additional 613,369 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Raymond James raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $234.72 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $240.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.91. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $287.32. The stock has a market cap of $67.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.62, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.