Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 857,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $206,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

BDX stock opened at $225.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.30 and a 200 day moving average of $235.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

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.