Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Raises Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,762,618 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,369,459,000 after acquiring an additional 76,244 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after acquiring an additional 435,168 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,342,503,000 after acquiring an additional 512,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,021,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,239,745,000 after acquiring an additional 76,294 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.9 %

BDX stock opened at $246.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $238.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.05. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.17.

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.