Bank of New Hampshire Has $651,000 Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bank of New Hampshire cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 442 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $761,798,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after buying an additional 435,168 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 117.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 710,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $173,347,000 after buying an additional 383,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BDX. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $238.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $234.35 and its 200 day moving average is $237.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $224.00 and a one year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.