Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.13.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $237.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $68.58 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.14. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $286.46.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.