Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 211 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note 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. Finally, Raymond James dropped 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $224.20 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.83 and a 200 day moving average of $234.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $64.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.