247 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Purchased by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 247 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $60,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BDX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX traded down $2.08 on Tuesday, reaching $223.40. 141,584 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,360. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The company has a market cap of $64.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.48. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.