Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,833 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 valued at $1,146,374,000 after acquiring an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 valued at $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position 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 valued at $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $225.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.35 and a 200-day moving average of $234.65. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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

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.