Atria Investments Inc Has $4.83 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,049 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth approximately $148,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 326,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,455 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $231.26 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $236.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend 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.