Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 1,568 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,120 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Pflug Koory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade 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 have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $243.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $248.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.08. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. 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%.

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.