Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 76.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,884 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $221.44.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $1.29 on Friday, reaching $172.53. 3,358,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,939,853. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $192.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company 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%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 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.