Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 117 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,726 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,716,000 after buying an additional 5,519 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 5,574 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Phraction Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 32,924 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,028,000 after buying an additional 7,183 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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 $234.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.71. The company has a market capitalization of $67.78 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.45.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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. In other 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 value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.