LifePlan Financial LLC Has $498,000 Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

LifePlan Financial LLC lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,194 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the 4th 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,487 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BDX. Citigroup raised shares of 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. Evercore ISI lifted 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $237.57 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.13 and a 200-day moving average of $232.70. 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 released its 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.