Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 44,041 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE BDX traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.22. The company had a trading volume of 4,130,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,458. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $209.99 and a 200 day moving average of $223.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

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.