Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Purchases Shares of 882 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 882 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $237.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.61.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 dividend yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.