Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Acquires 2,602 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises 2.1% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in 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. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $240.02 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $262.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.25. The firm has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a PE ratio of 52.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BDX. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.