Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 79.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.03% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $720,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,580,000 after acquiring an additional 46,668 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,334,000 after purchasing an additional 37,851 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,052 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% during the third quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,380,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 150,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

BDX stock opened at $225.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 63.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

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.