Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,252 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company, buying an additional 2,252 shares and owning a total of 137,815 shares valued at approximately $23.7 million.
• Notable hedge fund activity included Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosting its position by 98.7% and other funds like CX Institutional and Global X Japan adding to their stakes during the second quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Becton, Dickinson and Company, with several upgrades leading to an increase in targeted stock prices, including an upgrade from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen and a new target price of $230 set by Argus.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 137,815 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $23,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.7% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the second quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA now owns 19,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 2,917 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Thomasville National Bank grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 35,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,043,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $186.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 633,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,990. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $187.84 and its 200-day moving average is $189.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $53.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the sale, the director owned 22,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,965 shares of company stock worth $551,536. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.30.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.