Welch & Forbes LLC Has $21.17 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $21,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $236.60. 1,255,426 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.12. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.