Bellecapital International Ltd. Sells 100 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bellecapital International Ltd. cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after buying an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI boosted 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $240.87. 127,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,388,031. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $237.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.18. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $262.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.