Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 56,228 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 480,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 56,228 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $115,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 843.7% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 29,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 9,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $225.52. 25,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,404,169. The company has a market cap of $65.18 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89.

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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.