Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $19,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $242.41 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $283.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $233.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

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.