B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $15.08 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,546 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $15,080,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 843.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 29,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.14 on Tuesday. 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 $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $236.03 and its 200 day moving average is $234.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised 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. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

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.