Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 817,069 Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 817,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $152,931,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 0.5% of Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of Becton, Dickinson and Company as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at $344,000. Covea Finance lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 78,847 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,758,000 after buying an additional 7,610 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $983,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 905,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $169,531,000 after purchasing an additional 17,844 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,662 shares of company stock valued at $535,246 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $203.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.87, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $162.29 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.04%.

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.