Marshall Wace LLP Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 784,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,867 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.27% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $183,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $234.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.70, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. 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 simple moving average of $235.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.52. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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. Raymond James decreased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.