Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $224.09. 3,387,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,478,443. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The firm has a market cap of $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% 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.