Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Makes New $360,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $247.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,093,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,061. The stock has a market cap of $71.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.77, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Raymond James increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.17.

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.