Prospera Private Wealth LLC Makes New $676,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,079 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,080,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $222.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The stock has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $235.55 and its 200 day moving average is $234.72.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.