Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Buys 473 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,674 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,562,000 after acquiring an additional 18,786 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,853,000 after purchasing an additional 49,559 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the first quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 162,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,257,000 after purchasing an additional 5,527 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,481,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $238.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.16. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $262.23. The firm has a market cap of $68.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.