Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,323 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 463.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 77.8% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,787 shares of company stock valued at $551,391. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $156.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.08. The firm has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 68.52%.

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

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.