Auto Owners Insurance Co Acquires 40,528,680 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Auto Owners Insurance Co massively boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company, buying 40.5 million additional shares in the fourth quarter and ending with about 14.3% ownership worth roughly $790.1 million.
• Other major institutions also added to BDX, including Vanguard, Wellington Management, Northwestern Mutual, Norges Bank, and First Eagle, with institutional investors now owning about 86.97% of the stock.
• BDX reported quarterly EPS of $2.90, topping estimates, and raised FY2026 guidance to $12.52-$12.72 EPS, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share.

Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned approximately 14.30% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $790,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $979,290,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $769,397,000 after acquiring an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $734,321,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.00.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,161,922.56. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,013 shares of company stock worth $593,434. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $143.99 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The stock's 50 day moving average is $148.89 and its 200-day moving average is $172.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.35 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

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.

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