AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 117,735 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 28.8%, owning 525,832 shares valued at approximately $118.8 million following a purchase of 117,735 additional shares.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Becton, Dickinson, with a consensus rating of "Hold", while target prices range from $184.00 to $241.00.
• Becton, Dickinson recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with $3.68 EPS, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share to be paid on September 30th.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 525,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 117,735 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $118,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,097,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29,654.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $170,523,000 after acquiring an additional 741,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total transaction of $165,954.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,398.90. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.56. 1,258,897 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,594,434. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.34. 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 $54.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.82%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.