First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 85 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, July 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.6 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.97%.

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.