First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.09 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $173,692,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $235.25. 199,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,437,232. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $283.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a PE ratio of 51.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.