Hudson Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hudson Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $238.05 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $248.42. 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 $69.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.79.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.