Somerset Trust Co Buys 277 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Somerset Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings 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 worth $1,146,374,000 after purchasing an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 worth $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup raised shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $238.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $68.84 billion, a PE ratio of 52.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $236.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.46. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $269.52.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

Becton, Dickinson and 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.