Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Decreased by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 843.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 29,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,272,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 9,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.6% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $225.15 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. 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.