Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Acquires 3,436 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,436 shares during the quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,493,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $225.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,965,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,378. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. 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 payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.