HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,591 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $85,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $221.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.89. The firm has a market cap of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted 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 return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date 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.