Aristides Capital LLC Takes $351,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 1,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

BDX opened at $241.05 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52. The company has a market capitalization of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $236.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.51.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.