Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Has $399,000 Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 165.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reduced 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $221.90 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.