First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 85 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BDX opened at $224.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.74 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $235.15 and a 200-day moving average of $234.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James dropped 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

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.