Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $135.81 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 581,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,149 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up approximately 0.9% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $135,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $451,641,000 after acquiring an additional 68,509 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,562,000 after buying an additional 18,786 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,853,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $11,998,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after buying an additional 5,527 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BDX. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BDX traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $242.34. The stock had a trading volume of 893,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,639. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $283.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $233.57 and a 200 day moving average of $236.06. The company has a market cap of $70.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.