Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 616.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 12,186 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company 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 boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BDX opened at $237.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $227.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.59.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.