Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,834 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,123 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 0.3% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in 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. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Evercore ISI upped 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. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and 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 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $232.11 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $67.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.