HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,682 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14,668.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,907,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,579,171,000 after acquiring an additional 69,434,598 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,721,533,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $179.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $171.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.59. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $193.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.21.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 126.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 8,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,580 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells products used by healthcare providers, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 1897 by Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, the company is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

BD’s products support medication delivery, infection prevention, diagnostics and surgical care. Its portfolio includes needles, syringes, injection devices, infusion products, medication-management systems, specimen-collection products, laboratory instruments and diagnostic technologies.