Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 208.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 160,073 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $57,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,580,000 after acquiring an additional 46,668 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,334,000 after acquiring an additional 37,851 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $225.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The stock has a market cap of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $236.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. 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 previous year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Finally, 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. 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.

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.