Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Increases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.07% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $47,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $225.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.38. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

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.