DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 77,518 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 326,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 77,518 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $79,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sky Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 27,931 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 84,005 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $20,483,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

BDX traded up $3.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $246.17. 1,103,978 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,031. The company's fifty day moving average price is $240.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 90.05%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.