Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $234.18 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $269.52. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.58, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

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.