Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 548,199 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 75,441 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $132,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 96,125.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,296,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 7,435 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.1% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BDX opened at $225.48 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change 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 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.