Thomasville National Bank Has $7.54 Million Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $2.01 on Monday, hitting $235.68. The company had a trading volume of 636,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,802. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $226.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

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.