AMG National Trust Bank Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 53.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,279 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,544,000 after purchasing an additional 788,735 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after buying an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $108,243,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 target price on 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 raised shares of 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 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

BDX stock opened at $224.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $64.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $236.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

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.