Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Sells 61 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during 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 last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after acquiring an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $231.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Raymond James cut their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

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.