Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Has $215,000 Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $234.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.61. The company has a market capitalization of $67.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.