36,945 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Acquired by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $8,382,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 1.9% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after buying an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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 downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $228.18. 181,811 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,020. The firm has a market cap of $66.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.59. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.