Pitcairn Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 142.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,896 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James decreased 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $224.00 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $64.74 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current 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 is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.97%.

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.