Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 12,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,716 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $240.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $227.13 and a 200 day moving average of $232.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $248.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.