First Pacific Financial Buys 557 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Citigroup raised 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $236.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.51. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $248.42. 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 capitalization of $68.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last three months. 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.