Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Boosted by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 651 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 1,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 880.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 294,082 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,706,000 after acquiring an additional 264,097 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $241.66 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $269.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $236.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.23, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s 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.