Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $36,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7 %

BDX opened at $240.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $262.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.70%.

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.