Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 49.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 21,830 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% during 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. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $481,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 70,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,108,000 after buying an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:BDX opened at $159.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.24. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.97. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $674,693 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

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.