Axa S.A. Buys 28,148 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Axa S.A. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 503,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 28,148 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned about 0.17% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $117,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,146,374,000 after purchasing an additional 87,230 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second 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 buying an additional 346,720 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second 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 buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after buying an additional 105,821 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $236.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $235.81 and a 200 day moving average of $235.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. 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 upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.