West Tower Group LLC Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,243,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $225.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $234.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.48. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 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 (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

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.