Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $31,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $0.86 on Friday, hitting $238.22. 712,860 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,546. The firm has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52. 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 announced 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. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.