Running Oak Capital LLC Buys 5,775 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,775 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,342,503,000 after acquiring an additional 512,566 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,121,000 after acquiring an additional 473,914 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after acquiring an additional 435,168 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $6.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $240.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,669,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,799. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $238.75 and a 200 day moving average of $240.71. The company has a market capitalization of $69.44 billion, a PE ratio of 55.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

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.