Dover Advisors LLC Acquires 488 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Dover Advisors LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 488 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the first 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 boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,853,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $11,998,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the first 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. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,481,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $241.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,127,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,399,019. 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 simple moving average is $236.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $262.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.