Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,840 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3,563.3% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,238,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $196.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $189.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.73. The company has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.64.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total transaction of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,036 shares of company stock valued at $197,225 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.