Adirondack Retirement Specialists Inc. Raises Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Adirondack Retirement Specialists Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and comprises 0.2% of Adirondack Retirement Specialists Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Adirondack Retirement Specialists Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,311,000 after buying an additional 6,687 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $282.00 to $284.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.60.

Becton, Dickinson and Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $251.88 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $215.90 and a fifty-two week high of $269.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.33. The company has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.11. Becton, Dickinson and had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. Becton, Dickinson and’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

About Becton, Dickinson and

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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.