Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Purchased by Banque de Luxembourg S.A.

Banque de Luxembourg S.A. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 92.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,235 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises 2.5% of Banque de Luxembourg S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Banque de Luxembourg S.A.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.64.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 978 shares of company stock valued at $186,725 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $196.23 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $162.29 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $55.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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

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.