Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,137 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,633.52. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,188 shares of company stock worth $765,120. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,048,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,698,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.33%.

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.