Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,204 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 463.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Argus lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $158.63 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.09.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,103 shares of company stock worth $202,870. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.