Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $45,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX traded down $3.29 on Monday, hitting $240.46. The stock had a trading volume of 249,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,388,632. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $262.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $237.01 and a 200-day moving average of $235.18.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.