Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 11,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,353 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $173,692,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $75,493,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $231.58 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $269.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $235.23 and a 200-day moving average of $235.54. The company has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

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.