Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 169,030 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,635 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $40,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $247,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,920.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 104,758 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,265,000 after purchasing an additional 99,572 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $1,207,000. Finally, Socorro Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP now owns 36,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,856,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $222.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.10. The stock has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $249.89.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 63.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.