Cornerstone Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 12,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $234.04 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $234.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.