Prospera Private Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 2,804 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $75,493,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James cut their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE BDX opened at $222.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50 day moving average is $235.55 and its 200 day moving average is $234.72. 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 issued 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.