Arax Advisory Partners Sells 34,495 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Arax Advisory Partners sharply reduced its BDX position, cutting its stake by 77.7% in the fourth quarter and selling 34,495 shares. It ended the period with 9,906 shares valued at about $1.92 million.
• Insider selling continued at Becton, Dickinson, with CEO Thomas E. Polen Jr. and EVP Michael David Garrison both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Insiders sold 4,013 shares worth $593,434 over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain cautious on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.73. BDX recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share.

Arax Advisory Partners lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 77.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 34,495 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners' holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,074,750,000 after acquiring an additional 147,041 shares during the period. Skba Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,619.9% in the third quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 57,514 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $10,765,000 after acquiring an additional 54,170 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 47.3% in the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 27,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,164,000 after acquiring an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $34,596,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.48, for a total value of $166,628.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,161,922.56. This trade represents a 7.16% 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 4,013 shares of company stock valued at $593,434 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BofA decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE BDX opened at $145.61 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.58. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $187.35. The company has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 106.33%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.

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