Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 106 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,743 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $233.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $269.52. The company has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

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.