Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,079 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shelton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,616,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $357,000. Finally, Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 15,497 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,516,000 after buying an additional 703 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 traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $237.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,162. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.53. The company has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. 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 yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.