Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 112.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE BDX opened at $233.15 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $67.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

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.