Cullen Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Cullen Capital Management reduced its Becton, Dickinson stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, but still held 697,777 shares worth about $135.4 million at quarter-end.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with several target price cuts recently; the stock’s consensus rating is “Hold” and the average target price is $182.73.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Thomas E. Polen Jr. and EVP Michael David Garrison, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share.

Cullen Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 697,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 18,483 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $135,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crux Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 6,297 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 6,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.48, for a total transaction of $166,628.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,161,922.56. The trade was a 7.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 4,013 shares of company stock worth $593,434 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $146.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $150.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 106.33%.

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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