Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 23.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,083 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,060 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96,125.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $2,296,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 7,435 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BDX opened at $224.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $64.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.83 and a 200-day moving average of $234.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. 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 70.03%.

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.