Atwood & Palmer Inc. Sells 531 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,574 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 531 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $237.57 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.64. 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 issued its 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 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

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.