Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Has $1.17 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 165.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,115 shares during the quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 87,230 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in 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 buying an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in 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 buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7 %

BDX stock opened at $235.20 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.49. The company has a market cap of $67.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. 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 fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.