247 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Bought by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 247 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $60,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.6% during the third quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 618,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $149,038,000 after buying an additional 27,429 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $173,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,240,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,677,677 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $404,488,000 after purchasing an additional 62,133 shares during the period. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $265,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of BDX traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $223.40. The company had a trading volume of 141,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,360. The stock has a market cap of $64.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.48. 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 has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, equities research 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. Shareholders 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 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.