Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Boosts Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 195,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $47,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $457,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $522,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 101,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,017 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 309.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,443,000 after acquiring an additional 35,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $225.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $231.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost 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 is 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.