Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $5.03 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 31,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $5,029,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after buying an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,397,000 after purchasing an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $734,321,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $158.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.21. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.98 and its 200 day moving average is $169.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total transaction of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,188 shares of company stock valued at $765,120. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.