Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 223,879 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,502,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 223,879 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises approximately 5.1% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned approximately 0.87% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $603,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $75,493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $222.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,421,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,883. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $235.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.80.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.