S.A. Mason LLC Raises Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after buying an additional 11,734 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 46,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $246.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

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.