Hahn Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 33.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,782 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 3.5% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after buying an additional 105,821 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 research firms recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James dropped their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $232.67 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $269.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $234.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.