M.D. Sass LLC Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

M.D. Sass LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 185,207 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $44,653,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 3.3% of M.D. Sass LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $108,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $223.33. 210,515 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,408,567. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The company has a market capitalization of $64.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.48. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.