Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 17,380 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 456,226 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $106,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after purchasing an additional 18,786 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,998,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caden Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 83,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $20,340,000 after purchasing an additional 17,599 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $233.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $235.51 and its 200 day moving average is $235.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $269.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

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.