Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by Veritas Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• Veritas Asset Management cut its BDX position by 31.1%, selling 629,501 shares in the second quarter while retaining 1.39 million shares worth approximately $210.9 million. Institutional investors still own 86.97% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $187.67. BDX recently traded at $179.35 after a 2.9% decline.
• Becton, Dickinson exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.23 in EPS and $4.98 billion in revenue, while maintaining fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $12.62–$12.72. The company declared a $1.05 quarterly dividend, implying a 2.3% yield.

Veritas Asset Management LLP lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 31.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,393,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 629,501 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 3.9% of Veritas Asset Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.51% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $210,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 61,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $9,280,000 after purchasing an additional 9,494 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,126,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $218,614,000 after buying an additional 240,673 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at about $2,567,000. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth about $3,353,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $187.67.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $768,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,380,155. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,105 shares of company stock valued at $1,590,208 in the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 2.9%

BDX traded down $5.39 on Tuesday, reaching $179.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,804,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,599. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $193.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $171.21 and its 200 day moving average is $160.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.21.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. 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 payout ratio is 126.51%.

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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