Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 38,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,731,000 after buying an additional 3,156 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,344 shares of company stock worth $2,090,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

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.