Wesbanco Bank Inc. Boosts Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after acquiring an additional 172,005 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $761,798,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,663 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $628,440,000 after purchasing an additional 105,821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,112. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $233.78 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $283.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.56 billion, a PE ratio of 51.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.