KCM Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after buying an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at $75,493,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $225.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $236.30 and its 200 day moving average is $234.99. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

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.