E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after acquiring an additional 22,207 shares during the period. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,302,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 714,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $174,122,000 after acquiring an additional 7,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6 %

BDX traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $235.00. 1,921,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,197. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.93. The company has a market cap of $67.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.40.

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.