Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,767 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 195,931 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 87,230 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 raised its position in 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 valued at $697,513,000 after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $236.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $236.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.43. The company has a market capitalization of $68.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 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 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $262.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. 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.