Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,365 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $234.72. 831,896 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,417,358. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.18, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $240.64 and a 200 day moving average of $243.11. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

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.