Running Oak Capital LLC Buys 5,968 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,546 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,968 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $12,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 25,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,766,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 44,120 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Pflug Koory LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,211.44. This represents a 9.72 % 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 currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $228.08 and a 200-day moving average of $233.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.