Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Trims Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. trimmed its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

BDX stock opened at $237.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $227.07 and a 200-day moving average of $232.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.