Zacks Investment Management Invests $67.04 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 278,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $67,036,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,908 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 58.1% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,072 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,871,000 after purchasing an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

BDX opened at $220.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.41. 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 has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share 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 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

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.