Ieq Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,238 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,146,374,000 after purchasing an additional 87,230 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, 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 quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $235.51 and its 200 day moving average is $235.54.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.