Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during 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 buying an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during 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 buying an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $238.22. The company had a trading volume of 712,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,546. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $269.52. The stock has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.