Addenda Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the quarter. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock opened at $237.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.