Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 129,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,362 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $31,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in 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 buying an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $234.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $237.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $259.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $67.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.43.

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.