Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 39.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 449,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 126,058 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $103,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Raymond James decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 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 raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $233.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.62 billion, a PE ratio of 51.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.