Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Increased by LifePlan Financial LLC

LifePlan Financial LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $237.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.58. The company has a market cap of $68.59 billion, a PE ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.