CWS Financial Advisors LLC Has $272,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $221.98 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.39 and its 200 day moving average is $234.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

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.