Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Increases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 618,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,429 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 3.2% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $149,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 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 dropped their price objective 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $224.70. 73,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,204. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $234.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.48. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. The company has a market capitalization of $64.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 announced 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

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.