Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC Sells 8,156 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,011 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,156 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up approximately 1.8% of Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE BDX opened at $221.26 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.89. The firm has a market cap of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 63.97%.

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.