Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 99,572 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1,920.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,758 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 99,572 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $25,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $108,243,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $221.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.97%.

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.