Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,736,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,033 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.60% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $405,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after acquiring an additional 87,230 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 979 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 14,079 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $234.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.64 billion, a PE ratio of 51.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $269.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.60.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released 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 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.