Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,360 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % 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 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $236.23 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.77 and a 200 day moving average of $232.51. The firm has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

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.