Capital Performance Advisors LLP Buys New Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 236 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.0 %

BDX stock opened at $231.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.19%.

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.