Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 767 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $478,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423,353 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $173,692,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $240.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.02. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $283.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James dropped their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

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.