D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 691 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96,125.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $2,296,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 7,435 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $224.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $64.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.83 and its 200-day moving average is $234.40. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 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.