BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Cuts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,106 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,580,000 after buying an additional 46,668 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 11,998 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 132.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $221.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $234.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 63.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.