Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $15.15 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,848 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BDX. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $225.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $231.00 and a 200-day moving average of $233.44. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $249.89. The company has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.