GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 772 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $184,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $461,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,391 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during 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 lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during 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 lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $231.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for 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 business earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Raymond James lifted 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 research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities 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 price target of $280.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.