Avior Wealth Management LLC Purchases 524 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $222.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $235.78 and its 200 day moving average is $234.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 63.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.