Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,490 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 141.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,345,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,544,000 after acquiring an additional 788,735 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $173,692,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,803,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $655,149,000 after purchasing an additional 688,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $75,493,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $235.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $259.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.