Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd Sells 286,550 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 99.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 820 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 286,550 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the third quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $243.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $228.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s 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.