Raymond James & Associates Has $149.78 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 605,284 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 42,202 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.21% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $149,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE BDX traded up $1.95 on Monday, reaching $233.50. The company had a trading volume of 918,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,847. The firm has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.93. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

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.