Avity Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 3.1% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $40,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after buying an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second 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. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the second 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $236.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.43. The company has a market cap of $68.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $262.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BDX. Raymond James cut 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

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.