Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 300 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 6,878 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.5% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $240.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $262.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

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.