National Bank of Canada FI Sells 80,660 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 25.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 235,731 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 80,660 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $56,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 709,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $165,967,000 after buying an additional 6,052 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.2% during the third quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,380,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 150,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,367,000 after buying an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.1% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 84,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,463,000 after buying an additional 13,030 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE BDX opened at $220.02 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $232.60 and a 200-day moving average of $233.60. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

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.