Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,342,503,000 after buying an additional 512,566 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

BDX stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $233.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 779,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,389. 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 company has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $239.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.79.

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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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 year.

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.