First Republic Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $17,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 87.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $319.00 to $272.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $221.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 10th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.82.

Becton, Dickinson and Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $245.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $215.90 and a 1 year high of $280.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Becton, Dickinson and had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 9.16%. Becton, Dickinson and’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Becton, Dickinson and’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.90%.

Becton, Dickinson and Profile

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Becton, Dickinson & Co engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. It operates through the following segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment produces medical technologies and devices that are used to help improve healthcare delivery.