Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Holdings Increased by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,534,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 73.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 414.3% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.8 %

BDX stock opened at $234.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $67.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.46. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

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.