Flossbach Von Storch AG Acquires 20,962 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 273,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 20,962 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $66,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 308,957 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,333,000 after purchasing an additional 60,204 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 30,391 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $459,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.26. 1,510,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,413,843. 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 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $240.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.10 billion, a PE ratio of 55.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upped their target price on 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

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.