OFI Invest Asset Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 101 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.4% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,179 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 180.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares during the period. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,002,000. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 148,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,615,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $236.33. 917,471 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,447,671. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $233.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.20. The company has a market cap of $68.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.06, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

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.