RMR Wealth Builders Sells 50 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

RMR Wealth Builders trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $232.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.50. The firm has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 1.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.