Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Buys 150 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,080 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $108,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. 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 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.