O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Acquires 144 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,179 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises 2.1% of O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings 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 worth $461,158,000 after buying an additional 1,263,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $6,703,041,000 after buying an additional 516,427 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during 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 buying an additional 512,566 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,139,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,121,000 after buying an additional 473,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after buying an additional 435,168 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued 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 Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $231.55 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $229.40 and a one 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $239.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.89 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.