Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Purchases 549 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,859 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 20,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 132,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $133,000. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.4% in the third quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $237.17 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.51. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

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.