Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 2,789 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,789 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $19,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the fourth 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. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,721,533,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third 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 period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $734,321,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $189.71 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.20. The stock has a market cap of $52.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.14, a PEG ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $193.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%.The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $768,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,380,155. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,105 shares of company stock valued at $1,590,208 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is 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.