Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder increased its BDX stake by 32.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 42,040 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 170,572 shares valued at approximately $25.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.97% of the company.
• Becton Dickinson reported quarterly EPS of $3.23, beating estimates of $3.14, while revenue rose 5.4% year over year to $4.98 billion. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $12.62–$12.72.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with eight Buy, eight Hold and one Sell rating; the consensus is Hold with an average price target of $185. BDX also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.05, representing a 2.3% annualized yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 32.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,572 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 42,040 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.06% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $25,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $790,079,000 after buying an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,714,871,000 after acquiring an additional 116,737 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,260,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,885,361 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,331,165,000 after acquiring an additional 53,884 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,627 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,549. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $185.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BDX opened at $183.14 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $156.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.16, a P/E/G ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 126.51%.

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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