Hall Laurie J Trustee Purchases 221 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $2,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the first quarter worth approximately $114,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 11.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 8.8% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 13.0% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 504 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 26.0% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.08% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $235.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.55 and a 200-day moving average of $241.65. The company has a market capitalization of $66.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $215.90 and a 52-week high of $277.29.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.59 billion. Becton, Dickinson and had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.47%. Becton, Dickinson and’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Becton, Dickinson and’s payout ratio is 68.68%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.60, for a total value of $353,260.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,119 shares in the company, valued at $1,023,983.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and from $319.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $221.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded Becton, Dickinson and from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.89.

About Becton, Dickinson and

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Becton, Dickinson & Co engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. It operates through the following segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment produces medical technologies and devices that are used to help improve healthcare delivery.