Shana Carol Neal Sells 788 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $234.04 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $67.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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, 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norway Savings Bank boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 5,119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 3,340 shares during the period. Finally, Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $8,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.