Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,046 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,877 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,046 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,880,510,000 after acquiring an additional 448,644 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,567,654,000 after acquiring an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,012,649,000 after buying an additional 312,124 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,365,509 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $577,420,000 after buying an additional 12,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $188.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.46 and a 200-day moving average of $184.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,838 shares of company stock valued at $348,392 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.