Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,260 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.08 and a 200 day moving average of $233.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $248.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change 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 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI lifted 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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. Finally, 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. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.