Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,815,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,553 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $424,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423,353 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $173,692,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $233.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $234.45 and a 200 day moving average of $235.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. 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.