New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 23,542 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 0.18% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $125,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during 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. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 worth $1,342,503,000 after purchasing an additional 512,566 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in 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 worth $553,121,000 after purchasing an additional 473,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.36. 800,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,389,101. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a PE ratio of 55.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $239.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.99. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.