Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Buys 135 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 11.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and by 14.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,229 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,519,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and in the third quarter worth approximately $4,078,000. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and by 1.0% in the third quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,517 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 2.0% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 7,569 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 87.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $319.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $221.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Trading Down 1.0 %

Want More Great Investing Ideas?

NYSE BDX opened at $254.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $72.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.61. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $215.90 and a one year high of $280.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $239.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.62.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Becton, Dickinson and had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 8th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Becton, Dickinson and’s payout ratio is currently 61.90%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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’s BD Medical segment offers peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.