Veritas Asset Management LLP Buys 189,520 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,295,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 189,520 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for 4.1% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $553,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,562,000 after buying an additional 18,786 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 206.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,464,000 after purchasing an additional 31,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,175 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,962,000 after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $1.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,782. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $259.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $237.56 and its 200 day moving average is $235.07. The stock has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their price objective on 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 target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

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.