Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 766 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $233.49 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $259.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.