First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 182 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,453 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.2% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at about $324,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29.5% in the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,481,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 128,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,867,000 after acquiring an additional 5,630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $235.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $237.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.05. The company has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a PE ratio of 48.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $259.92. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.