Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 432 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.9% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.9% in the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,304,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $555,596,000 after purchasing an additional 61,185 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 7,579 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $243.75 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $262.23. The firm has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $237.01 and a 200 day moving average of $235.18. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

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.