ING Groep NV Boosts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,357 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,468 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $16,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $75,493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.7 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $227.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.