ProVise Management Group LLC Buys 637 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ProVise Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 637 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $231.58 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $269.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.54. The company has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

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.