HB Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,326 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

HB Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,326 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,994,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,870,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,218 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,954,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,068,000 after purchasing an additional 852,854 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $152,931,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,150,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,712,715,000 after purchasing an additional 636,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,103 shares of company stock worth $202,870. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4%

BDX stock opened at $154.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.44. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $187.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 68.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.