Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,580,000 after buying an additional 46,668 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,334,000 after buying an additional 37,851 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $165,967,000 after buying an additional 6,052 shares during the period. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,380,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $222.73 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.80.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James cut their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.