Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after purchasing an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BDX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,520 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $226.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.