Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 25,493 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 25,493 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.12% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $85,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $229,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,725 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $601,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $238.13. 1,001,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,380,241. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $259.92. The firm has a market cap of $68.82 billion, a PE ratio of 52.45, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

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.