Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) by 3.9% to 1,919,404 shares — about 0.67% ownership valued at roughly $359.3 million per its latest 13F filing.
• BDX beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.91 (vs. $2.81 expected) and revenue of $5.25 billion (vs. $5.15 billion), set FY2026 guidance of $12.35–$12.65 EPS, and carries an analyst consensus of Hold with a $195.46 average price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share (annualized $4.20, ~2.6% yield) and approved a $10 million share repurchase authorization.

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,919,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 71,676 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.67% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $359,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,471,000 after purchasing an additional 34,437 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% in the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $650,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% in the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,954,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $553,068,000 after purchasing an additional 852,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $195.46.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $674,693. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $163.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.50. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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