Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) shares picked up nearly 3% today and hit a new 52-week high after the medical products maker reported a nearly 138% top-line gain during its fiscal 1st quarter, crushing Wall Street analysts’ forecasts along the way.

Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD posted profits of $625.4 million, or $3.13 per share, on sales of $1.90 billion during the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2012. That represents profit growth of 137.8% on sales growth of 3.7% compared with the same period last year.

Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share reached $5.37, ahead of The Street by a whopping $4.14.

The strong results prompted BD to boost the bottom end of its sales growth outlook from 3.5%-4.5% to 4.0%-4.5% on a constant-currency basis, with EPS of between $5.69 and $5.72.

"We are very pleased with our start to fiscal year 2013," chairman, president & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. "After 2 years of significant investments in our business, we are starting to see notable results. We are growing revenues across our 3 segments, driving margin expansion and delivering a higher quality of earnings. Our positive first quarter results give us the confidence to raise the bottom end of our guidance range on revenues and earnings per share."

BD said sales for its medical unit were up 3.5% to $983 million, reflecting "strong sales" in its diabetes care business and "solid" revenues from its medical-surgical and pharmaceutical operations.

Sales for BD diagnostics were $652 million, up 5.0% compared with the prior-year period, while BD biosciences posted sales of $265 million, up 1.7%.

BDX shares were up 2.7% to $87.47 as of about 10:50 this morning, passing a 52-week high of $87.75 along the way.