Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 67 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,676 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 410,218 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $98,904,000 after buying an additional 7,045 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 38,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,245,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.9% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.6% in the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.6 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.20 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The firm has a market cap of $64.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on 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.