Bank of New Hampshire Trims Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bank of New Hampshire reduced its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 17.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,121 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the second 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,905,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,146,374,000 after acquiring an additional 87,230 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.76 on Monday, hitting $237.46. The company had a trading volume of 989,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,821. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $269.52.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.