Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,626,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 216,853 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $315,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 365.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,491,000 after buying an additional 25,022 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 6,058 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.64.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,913 shares of company stock valued at $426,806 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $151.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $41.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.33%.

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.