Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH Boosts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $236.29 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $226.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.49. The firm has a market cap of $68.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given 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 1.76%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.