FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. (AP) _ Becton Dickinson and Co. (BDX) on Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $525 million.

On a per-share basis, the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based company said it had net income of $1.72. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $2.74 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.46 per share.

The medical device manufacturer posted revenue of $4.89 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.53 billion.

Becton Dickinson expects full-year earnings in the range of $12.85 to $12.95 per share.

Becton Dickinson shares have risen almost 2% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has increased 17%. The stock has declined roughly 10% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BDX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BDX

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