Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $2.71 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 43.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,436 shares during the quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James dropped 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $225.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,965,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,378. 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 company has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

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.