Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $3.93 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 134,362 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,396,000 after purchasing an additional 19,841 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $688,000. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 85,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $238.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.82 billion, a PE ratio of 52.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.08. 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 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $259.92.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.