Cornerstone Advisors LLC Has $1.69 Million Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,580,000 after purchasing an additional 46,668 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,334,000 after purchasing an additional 37,851 shares during the period. M&G Plc increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $165,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,052 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 150,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James reduced their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $225.21 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $65.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $235.35 and its 200-day moving average is $234.65.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 63.97%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.