CWA Asset Management Group LLC Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after buying an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $231.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $236.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a market cap of $66.84 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.37 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.