Prospera Financial Services Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Prospera Financial Services Inc lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,927 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,009 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 16,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.3% in the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,463 shares of company stock valued at $501,530. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $175.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $127.59 and a one year high of $185.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $198.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.32. The company has a market capitalization of $50.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. 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 repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.