Avity Investment Management Inc. Acquires 11,186 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 169,364 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,186 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 2.3% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $32,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,087,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 2,722 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. TD Cowen increased 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. Zacks Research lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,713 shares of company stock worth $536,881. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $154.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.24. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $180.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.