BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Acquires 140,051 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 79.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 317,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,051 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $76,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

BDX stock opened at $225.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.65. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.