United Asset Strategies Inc. Purchases 302 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,391 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at about $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $1.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $234.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 303,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,366,685. 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 $259.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.05. The company has a market cap of $67.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.12, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.