Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 84 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,647 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $231.55. The stock had a trading volume of 738,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $239.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.10. The stock has a market cap of $66.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $229.40 and a 1-year high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.