Phraction Management LLC Increases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Phraction Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up approximately 3.7% of Phraction Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Phraction Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on 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. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Eight equities 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 target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of BDX opened at $225.15 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $236.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

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.