Xponance Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,292 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at $344,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,471,000 after buying an additional 34,437 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $650,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,491 shares of company stock valued at $689,195 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.46.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $176.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.68 and a 200 day moving average of $192.06.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 leadership 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.