Neo Ivy Capital Management Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,690,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE BDX traded down $2.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $219.16. 755,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,440,599. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $231.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.49.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The firm's 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.