Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 77.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 163,640 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

BDX opened at $221.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $249.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.