Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Southeast Asset Advisors LLC purchased 2,000 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) valued at approximately $458,000 in the first quarter.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company reported a 10.4% increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $5.51 billion, and earnings per share of $3.68, which exceeded estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04, representing a 2.1% yield, with a payout ratio of 74.82%.

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after buying an additional 448,644 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,012,649,000 after acquiring an additional 312,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,091,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $707,872,000 after acquiring an additional 37,733 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $165,954.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,143 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,398.90. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,214 shares of company stock worth $579,206. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $191.37. 1,793,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,912. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.82%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.