Gilbert & Cook Inc. Takes $647,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,685 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $225.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $236.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

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.