Fiduciary Trust Co Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,309 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,551 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 380.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,580,000 after buying an additional 46,668 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after buying an additional 6,052 shares during the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,380,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 150,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $221.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

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.