BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 59.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,331 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 20,653 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $12,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at about $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position 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 valued at $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9 %

BDX stock opened at $236.95 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $235.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.49. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $269.52. The company has a market cap of $68.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid 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 1.60%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.