Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Sells 83 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,260 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,646,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 14,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 12,186 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $591,000. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $237.57 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $248.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $227.07 and a 200-day moving average of $232.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.