Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. Acquires Shares of 8,462 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $227,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 4,999 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the first quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 47,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,862,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.0% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 18,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $243.75 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.18. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $262.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 1.79 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.