Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 39,826 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,308,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 924 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 6,049 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,764,340. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9 %

BDX stock opened at $228.46 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $227.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.