NS Partners Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

NS Partners Ltd increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $16,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 843.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 29,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,272,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.6% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $222.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $235.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.80. The stock has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Raymond James lowered their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.