ORG Partners LLC Has $727,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 689.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $108,243,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $233.65 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $248.42. The company has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

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.