Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 488.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,049 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,614 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $1,131,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $224.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

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.