Michael David Garrison Sells 597 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. The trade was a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Michael David Garrison also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 19th, Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $238.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.31 and a 200-day moving average of $232.79. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.