Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $659,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after buying an additional 18,786 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $11,998,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $40,257,000 after purchasing an additional 5,527 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE BDX opened at $235.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $236.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $266.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.