BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,331 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,653 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $12,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $236.95 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $68.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.19, a PEG ratio of 1.91 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.49.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. Citigroup decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI cut 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. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.