Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,744 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second 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 boosted its position 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 buying an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $227.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $236.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.10.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

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.