O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Sells 1,540 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,740 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 1.7% of O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 646.8% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $135,267,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 62,762 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,132,000 after acquiring an additional 21,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $67,036,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $220.02 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $232.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 63.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.