New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $125.26 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 513,723 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 23,542 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.18% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $125,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 512,566 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position 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 valued at $553,121,000 after acquiring an additional 473,914 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after acquiring an additional 435,168 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $234.38. 229,596 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,381,710. The company has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a PE ratio of 55.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $239.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.