Entropy Technologies LP Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 145.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,893 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $75,493,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James dropped their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $234.73 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $237.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.10. The company has a market capitalization of $67.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.