Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Position Cut by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its Becton, Dickinson and Company stake by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 86,237 shares and leaving it with 375,553 shares worth about $72.9 million.
• BDX shares were up 3.3% in Wednesday trading, with the stock opening at $147.04 and trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.90 EPS on $4.71 billion in revenue, and also announced a $1.05 quarterly dividend plus a share buyback authorization.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 375,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 86,237 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 1.3% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.13% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $72,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 365.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 25,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 34.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 6,058 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of BDX opened at $147.04 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $153.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $184.86.

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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