Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX): Insiders and Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About It

In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics market participants can use to track stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of incentives for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Furthermore, we’re going to discuss the newest info about Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX).

How have hedgies been trading Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 27 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, David Blood and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management had the most valuable position in Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX), worth close to $338.2 million, comprising 6.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Richard S. Pzena of Pzena Investment Management, with a $274.1 million position; 1.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital.

Due to the fact Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the top-tier hedge fund industry, we can see that there were a few hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors dumped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising close to $63 million in stock. Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey’s fund, Healthcor Management LP, also dumped its stock, about $57.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX). These stocks are DENTSPLY International Inc. (NASDAQ:XRAY), CareFusion Corporation (NYSE:CFN), C.R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR), Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), and Covidien plc (NYSE:COV). All of these stocks are in the medical instruments & supplies industry and their market caps match BDX’s market cap.

Using the results demonstrated by the previously mentioned research, regular investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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