Haverford Trust Co Sells 4,672 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Haverford Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,249 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,672 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.2% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 225.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,389 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,580,000 after purchasing an additional 46,668 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 280,193 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,334,000 after purchasing an additional 37,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $165,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,052 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $231.26 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $249.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.13. The company has a market cap of $66.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.