Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,207 shares during the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the third quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 714,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $174,122,000 after buying an additional 7,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.40.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BDX traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $237.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,120,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,706. The company has a market cap of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.27 and a 200 day moving average of $239.97.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.