Lincoln Capital LLC Sells 922 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lincoln Capital LLC cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,115 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 922 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for 0.7% of Lincoln Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during 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 during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $237.57 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $248.42. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $227.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.61. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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