Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. lessened its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 969 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,207 shares during the period. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 714,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $174,122,000 after buying an additional 7,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. 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 report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $233.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $239.10 and a 200-day moving average of $240.93. The company has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.