Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,410 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,689 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $16,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 552.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.00.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded down $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.73. 779,835 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,381,389. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $239.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.