Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.5 %

BDX opened at $240.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $262.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $236.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.25. The stock has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.