Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Position Lessened by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,839 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,028 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.9% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 81.6% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $64,498,000 after purchasing an additional 121,309 shares during the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the third quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 22,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.1% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of 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, Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $239.45. The company had a trading volume of 47,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $69.20 billion, a PE ratio of 52.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $259.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $237.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.03.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.