Hemenway Trust Co LLC Sells 3,153 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,153 shares during the quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 87,230 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded down $3.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $231.26. 1,186,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,402,289. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.88 and a 200 day moving average of $235.13. The stock has a market cap of $66.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.37 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.