ORG Partners LLC Acquires 1,328 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2,250.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after acquiring an additional 172,005 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $234.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,075,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,660. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $233.46 and a 200 day moving average of $236.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 51.94, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.