Keystone Financial Services Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Keystone Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth about $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $234.73 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The firm has a market cap of $67.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.04 and a 200 day moving average of $235.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.37 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.