Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Purchases 9,645 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 37.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,295 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 9,645 shares during the quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covea Finance lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 174.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 55,325 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,339,000 after acquiring an additional 35,145 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 166,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,226 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 429.2% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,466 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.8% during the third quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 19,218 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX opened at $236.50 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $262.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.09, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.