Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,406 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 383,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $93,524,000 after buying an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $715,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 85,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $234.36 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The stock has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $239.72 and a 200-day moving average of $241.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The business’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. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.