State Street Corp Increases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

State Street Corp raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 4.83% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $3,364,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $247,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 130,826 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,542,000 after purchasing an additional 4,361 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 120,729 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,108,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 13,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $220.02. 2,794,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,438,608. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.73. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

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.