ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 33,025 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 797,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 33,025 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.28% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $186,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $6,369,681,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.54. The stock has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G 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 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James cut 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.