Good Life Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,562,000 after purchasing an additional 18,786 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after acquiring an additional 49,559 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $11,998,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the first quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,527 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,481,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.4 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $243.75 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.01 and its 200-day moving average is $235.18. 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 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $262.23. The company has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for 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 last year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued 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 1.56%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.