Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 23,219.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,137,888 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $769,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after purchasing an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,592 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% in the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,954,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,068,000 after purchasing an additional 852,854 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $152,931,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $143.32 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.80 and a 200 day moving average of $179.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 106.33%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,102 shares of company stock worth $198,909. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.