CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.2% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,806 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 70.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,166 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.0% during the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 34.7% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $243.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $228.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.