Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 172,142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 17,941 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $32,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 463.3% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $675,557. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $182.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $198.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.26. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $185.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 68.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BDX. Citigroup reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.46.

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.