CWS Financial Advisors LLC Has $272,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in 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. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $221.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $234.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 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 posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of 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, Citigroup raised 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.