MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,929 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,929 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $108,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock opened at $221.96 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $234.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.32. The company has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a P/E 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 results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.97%.

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.