Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Buys 49 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $461,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,342,503,000 after purchasing an additional 512,566 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $2.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $234.30. The stock had a trading volume of 182,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,679. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.10.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

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.