Americana Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $324,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Raymond James dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.7 %

BDX opened at $235.24 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $259.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

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.