Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 717 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,949 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $233.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.09 and a 200-day moving average of $236.02. 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 $272.14. The stock has a market cap of $67.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.