Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,179,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,918 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $284,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after purchasing an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 5.5 %

BDX opened at $226.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $257.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $237.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.16.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.19%.

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.