Procyon Advisors LLC Acquires 247 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,591 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,838,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s 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 represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE BDX opened at $236.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 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.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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.