Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $345.87 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,434,559 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.50% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $345,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 207,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $51,312,000 after purchasing an additional 25,977 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 160.7% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a 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 cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:BDX traded up $3.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $234.86. 587,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,399,213. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $67.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.66, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.43.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 78.19%.

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.