Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Buys 988 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,894 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 988 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 5,389 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $7,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew 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 valued at $2,414,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $225.15 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 stock has a market cap of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $236.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 63.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.