Ridgewood Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third 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 increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during 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 buying an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % 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 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.10. The stock had a trading volume of 895,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,237. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $226.94 and its 200 day moving average is $232.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 declared 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 was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

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.