Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 37.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,580,000 after acquiring an additional 46,668 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,334,000 after acquiring an additional 37,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,052 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $227.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $236.56 and its 200 day moving average is $235.10. The company has a market capitalization of $65.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.97%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.