Brookstone Capital Management Grows Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co of Kansas purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $258,000. Marion Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the third quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 10,341 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,493,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.6% during the third quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,938,000 after buying an additional 3,512 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.4% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,816 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $235.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.46. The company has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.85, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $266.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85.

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 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

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.