West Oak Capital LLC Purchases 795 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1,445.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $233.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,597,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,587. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.47. The stock has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.