Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 33,000 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up approximately 0.4% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted 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 during the period. United Bank grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 365.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,491,000 after buying an additional 25,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 34.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after buying an additional 6,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This trade 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 accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102 shares of company stock valued at $198,909 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Barclays started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.57.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $144.15 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.87 and its 200 day moving average is $181.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 68.52%.

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.