Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 59 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.2% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,806 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,166 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 118.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 10,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 5,913 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.0 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $240.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is an increase 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 is presently 70.03%.

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.