Sigma Planning Corp Sells 2,464 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,464 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after buying an additional 22,207 shares during the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the third quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,302,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 714,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $174,122,000 after purchasing an additional 7,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $233.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 55.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.73. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays increased their price objective 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 price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

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.