Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 77.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 163,640 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 47,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. M.D. Sass LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $44,653,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James decreased their target price 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

BDX stock opened at $221.98 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. 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 cap of $64.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.