Trust Co. of Vermont Buys Shares of 32,999 Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,999 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $4,994,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after buying an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,885,361 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,165,000 after buying an additional 53,884 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $768,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,380,155. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,686,559.04. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,669 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $182.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.26. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 126.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.67.

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.