Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 908.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,005,994,000 after purchasing an additional 172,005 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. 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 report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total transaction of $781,209.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,942.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE BDX traded up $4.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $241.00. 1,115,161 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,456,386. The stock has a market cap of $69.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $284.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.