Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Holdings Raised by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,678 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,146,374,000 after acquiring an additional 87,230 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $222.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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 is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. 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 boosted 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.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.