Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Sells 4,756 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 48.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,089 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 4,756 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,703,041,000 after purchasing an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,034,523 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,043,045,000 after purchasing an additional 395,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,630,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $938,593,000 after purchasing an additional 304,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.55. 738,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,001,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.24.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.