HF Advisory Group LLC Has $537,000 Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 80.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.6% in the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

BDX stock traded down $0.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $231.26. 104,904 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,396,165. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $240.34 and its 200 day moving average is $242.65. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $229.40 and a twelve month high of $287.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $66.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target 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. Barclays lifted 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 research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.