Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.28 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after buying an additional 116,737 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after buying an additional 1,651,592 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after buying an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $154.81 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $42.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.35 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Argus lowered their target price 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. Bank of America cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,122,355.05. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,188 shares of company stock worth $765,120. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.