Argent Trust Co Purchases 3,114 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Argent Trust Co boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 35.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,731 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,491 shares of company stock worth $689,195. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BDX opened at $176.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.25. 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 $187.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.06.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.