Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,226 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 196 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James lowered their price target 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. 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $236.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.09, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $262.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.38.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.