Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,555 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after buying an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 buying an additional 87,230 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 valued at $1,031,167,000 after buying an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised 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 valued at $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI upped 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. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $233.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $259.92.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.