Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,840 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,219 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. 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 during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $173,692,000. 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Raymond James dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $240.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $237.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.16. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $259.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $69.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.43.

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 paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.19%.

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.