Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 35.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,736,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $405,726,000 after purchasing an additional 167,033 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth $2,767,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 534 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $226.92 and a 200-day moving average of $232.50. The company has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’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 owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520. 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.