Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 10,130 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 16,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 14,755 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,375,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $238.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. 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 quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.66 and a 200 day moving average of $235.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on 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 Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James dropped their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

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.