Regatta Capital Group LLC Purchases 156 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,260 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $228.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.