2,208 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Bought by LifePlan Financial LLC

LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $234.72. The company had a trading volume of 831,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,358. The company has a market cap of $67.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $240.64 and its 200-day moving average is $243.11. 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% 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.