Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,660 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $28,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 77.8% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’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 value of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,416 shares of company stock worth $674,693. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $160.19 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $189.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 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 company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually 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.