Rathbones Group PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 57.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 20,393 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after buying an additional 116,737 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,260,139,000 after buying an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,841,083,000 after buying an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.93.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $170.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.74 and a 200-day moving average of $162.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a PEG ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,189 shares of company stock valued at $765,661 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.