Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Increases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,845 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blossom Wealth Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $4,997,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,746.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 18,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after acquiring an additional 17,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,376,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup upgraded 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $239.63 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $262.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.25 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

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.