Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 1,317,723 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 79.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $720,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reduced 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $225.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.65.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 63.97%.

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.